Forty of Us in a Hall for Four Hundred

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CELPIP Practice Reading: Reading for Viewpoints ID: #63231 Medium Forty of Us in a Hall for Four Hundred

Read the following blog post from a website.

I have sung in the choir at our church on Elm Street in Winnipeg for thirty-one years, and I was married under its big round window. Most Sundays now there are about forty of us in a hall built for four hundred, and the heating bill alone eats half of what we collect. A housing charity has offered to buy the building and turn most of it into apartments. Our congregation votes on the offer in May, and I am writing this so that the people in our pews know what each side is saying before we raise our hands.

Ingeborg Sorensen, who plans housing for the charity, argues that empty churches near rapid transit are some of the best building sites left in the city. “An empty hall keeps the heat on for nobody,” she said at a neighbourhood meeting, pointing to a count of more than thirty half-used churches within a short walk of a rapid bus stop. She would keep the stone front and the round window exactly as they are and fit about sixty apartments inside. Ambrose Delisle, a heritage architect, says that gutting the interior would destroy the carved wooden ceiling and the painted wall behind the altar, and that no photograph could ever stand in for them. He could accept apartments in the two side wings, but he wants the main hall kept open as one large room.

Rukhsana Chowdhury, a city planner, says conversions like this often stall halfway because nobody priced the fire exits, the elevators and the new wiring at the start. She supports Sorensen’s plan if the cost of those upgrades and a written plan for protecting the old features are agreed before any demolition permit is issued. Gaspard Trottier, the pastor of a smaller church down the street, says any sale should set aside money to help the remaining members find a new place to worship. He also wants the charity to publish a parking plan, so that Sunday worshippers and new tenants are not fighting over the same twelve spaces.

I will be honest: when I picture that ceiling in pieces, my stomach turns. But I also picture sixty families under our roof instead of forty people in winter coats. I will vote yes if Delisle’s main hall stays whole and Trottier’s moving fund is part of the deal. Whatever we decide, I hope we decide it together, with our eyes open.

Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.

This blog post is mainly about 1.

how a church can pay its heating billwhy fewer people go to church todaywhether to turn a church into apartmentswhere to build a new rapid bus stop

.

Who most clearly argues that some losses could never be made up by photographs? 2.

Ingeborg SorensenAmbrose DelisleRukhsana ChowdhuryGaspard Trottier

.

Ingeborg Sorensen’s position would most likely be supported by 3.

a survey of members who want to stayan estimate of the cost of new fire exitsa list of empty churches close to rapid busesa count of parking spaces near the church

.

What outcome does Rukhsana Chowdhury’s condition call for? 4.

the charity would skip the fire and elevator workdemolition would start while the costs were studiedupgrade costs would be settled before demolition beganthe city would pay for every needed upgrade

.

The blogger’s main aim in this post is to 5.

persuade the charity to raise its offerinform fellow members before they voteask readers to donate toward the heatingargue that the church should never be sold

The following is a comment by a visitor to the website page. Complete the comment by choosing the best option to fill in each blank.

Our old parish hall in Brandon became apartments six years ago, and I can tell you the neighbours stopped grumbling about the construction dust within a single summer. Ingeborg Sorensen would keep 6.

the pews and the old organthe stone front and the round windowthe side wings and the bell towerthe carved ceiling and the altar

exactly as they are, and our builder never once promised us that much. The pastor down the street wants a published parking plan so that worshippers and tenants are not fighting over 7.

a single loading zonethe church’s front stepsthe same twelve spacesone narrow driveway

, which was our biggest headache for a year. He also asks for money to 8.

repair the roof of the smaller churchpay for a new organ for the choirhire a full-time caretaker for the buildinghelp remaining members find a new church

, and I think that is only decent. It shocked me to read that the blogger’s church spends 9.

a third of its yearly budgethalf of what it collectsmore than it collectstwice what it paid last year

just to stay warm through the long prairie winter, which sounds like a terrible way to spend money. The blogger, who 10.

leads the housing charity’s boardwas baptized in one of the side wingshas sung in the choir for decadesworks in the city planning office

, clearly loves that building, and I wish your congregation a gentle vote.

A.I. Explanation:

Correct Answer: whether to turn a church into apartments
Passage Reference: A housing charity has offered to buy the building and turn most of it into apartments.
Why this is correct: A housing charity wants to buy the blogger’s church and turn most of it into apartments. The whole post weighs that offer before the congregation votes.
Tips: For a “mainly about” question, find the offer and the vote in the first paragraph. Each speaker then gives a view on that offer.
Why the other options are wrong:
how a church can pay its heating bill: The heating bill is mentioned as one reason the church is struggling. But the post is about the offer to convert it.
why fewer people go to church today: The writer says only forty people come on Sundays but never explains why attendance has fallen.
where to build a new rapid bus stop: Rapid bus stops come up only as a reason churches make good housing sites. Nobody plans a new stop.
Correct Answer: Ambrose Delisle
Passage Reference: no photograph could ever stand in for them
Why this is correct: Ambrose Delisle says gutting the interior would destroy the carved ceiling and painted wall. He adds that no photograph could ever stand in for them.
Tips: Read each speaker’s worry about the building. Ask whose worry is about the beauty inside the hall, not about cost, parking or housing.
Why the other options are wrong:
Ingeborg Sorensen: Ingeborg Sorensen wants to convert the church and talks about empty buildings near transit, not about what photographs cannot replace.
Rukhsana Chowdhury: Rukhsana Chowdhury asks for a plan to protect old features, but her point is about pricing upgrades, not about photographs.
Gaspard Trottier: Gaspard Trottier talks about a moving fund and parking, not about the church’s interior.
Correct Answer: a list of empty churches close to rapid buses
Passage Reference: argues that empty churches near rapid transit are some of the best building sites left in the city
Why this is correct: Sorensen argues that empty churches near rapid transit are excellent building sites. She points to a count of half-used churches near rapid bus stops. A list like that supports her position.
Tips: Sorensen backs her quote with a count she pointed to at the meeting. The right choice is the same kind of proof.
Why the other options are wrong:
a survey of members who want to stay: Members who want to stay in the building would work against a sale, which is Sorensen’s plan.
an estimate of the cost of new fire exits: Fire-exit costs relate to Chowdhury’s warning that projects stall, not to Sorensen’s case for using churches as housing.
a count of parking spaces near the church: Parking is Trottier’s concern. The number of spaces says nothing about whether churches make good housing sites.
Correct Answer: upgrade costs would be settled before demolition began
Passage Reference: the cost of those upgrades and a written plan for protecting the old features are agreed before any demolition permit is issued
Why this is correct: Chowdhury supports the plan only if two things are agreed before any demolition permit is issued. These are the cost of the upgrades and a plan for old features. So costs are settled before demolition begins.
Tips: Chowdhury’s condition follows “if”. Match the first thing she wants agreed, and notice the order of events.
Why the other options are wrong:
the charity would skip the fire and elevator work: Chowdhury wants the fire exits and elevators priced, not skipped.
demolition would start while the costs were studied: Chowdhury wants the costs agreed before any demolition permit, so demolition cannot start first.
the city would pay for every needed upgrade: Chowdhury asks for the costs to be agreed, but she never says the city should pay them.
Correct Answer: inform fellow members before they vote
Passage Reference: I am writing this so that the people in our pews know what each side is saying before we raise our hands
Why this is correct: The blogger says the post is written so that the people in the pews know what each side is saying. That should happen before the congregation votes in May.
Tips: Sometimes the writer tells you the purpose directly. Look for “I am writing this so that” near the start.
Why the other options are wrong:
persuade the charity to raise its offer: The size of the charity’s offer is never discussed.
ask readers to donate toward the heating: The heating bill is mentioned as a problem, but the blogger never asks for donations.
argue that the church should never be sold: Look at the last paragraph: the writer says “I will vote yes” if certain conditions are met. So the post does not oppose every sale.
Correct Answer: the stone front and the round window
Passage Reference: She would keep the stone front and the round window exactly as they are
Why this is correct: Sorensen says she would keep the stone front and the round window exactly as they are.
Tips: The comment says “exactly as they are”, which are Sorensen’s own words. Find her sentence and read what she would keep.
Why the other options are wrong:
the pews and the old organ: The pews and an organ are never part of Sorensen’s promise.
the side wings and the bell tower: The side wings are where Delisle could accept apartments, and no bell tower is mentioned.
the carved ceiling and the altar: The carved ceiling and the wall behind the altar are what Delisle fears will be destroyed. Sorensen does not promise to keep them.
Correct Answer: the same twelve spaces
Passage Reference: He also wants the charity to publish a parking plan, so that Sunday worshippers and new tenants are not fighting over the same twelve spaces.
Why this is correct: Trottier is the pastor down the street. He wants the charity to publish a parking plan. Then Sunday worshippers and new tenants will not be fighting over the same twelve spaces.
Tips: The comment calls him “the pastor down the street”. Find his second request and look for a number.
Why the other options are wrong:
a single loading zone: A loading zone is never mentioned. Trottier’s worry is the twelve parking spaces.
the church’s front steps: The front steps are never part of Trottier’s parking worry.
one narrow driveway: No driveway is mentioned. The blog post talks about twelve parking spaces.
Correct Answer: help remaining members find a new church
Passage Reference: any sale should set aside money to help the remaining members find a new place to worship
Why this is correct: Trottier, the pastor down the street, says any sale should set aside money. It would help the remaining members find a new place to worship.
Tips: Trottier’s first request is about money from the sale. Read what he says that money should be used for, and put it in your own words.
Why the other options are wrong:
repair the roof of the smaller church: Trottier leads a smaller church, but he never asks for money to repair its roof.
pay for a new organ for the choir: An organ is never mentioned in the blog post. The blogger’s choir is part of the church being sold.
hire a full-time caretaker for the building: Trottier asks for a moving fund and a parking plan, not a caretaker.
Correct Answer: half of what it collects
Passage Reference: the heating bill alone eats half of what we collect
Why this is correct: In the first paragraph, the heating bill alone eats half of what the congregation collects.
Tips: The comment asks about the cost of staying warm. Find the sentence about the heating bill and read the amount carefully.
Why the other options are wrong:
a third of its yearly budget: The blog post gives the heating cost as half of the collection, not a third of a budget.
more than it collects: The heating bill eats half of the collection, not more than all of it.
twice what it paid last year: The heating bill is never compared with last year’s.
Correct Answer: has sung in the choir for decades
Passage Reference: I have sung in the choir at our church on Elm Street in Winnipeg for thirty-one years
Why this is correct: The blogger says they have sung in the church choir for thirty-one years, which is more than three decades.
Tips: The comment asks about the writer’s own life. The opening sentence gives a number of years, so check what it describes.
Why the other options are wrong:
leads the housing charity’s board: The writer is a member of the congregation. Sorensen works for the charity, and nobody leads its board in the post.
was baptized in one of the side wings: The writer was married under the round window. A baptism is never mentioned.
works in the city planning office: The city planner in the blog post is Chowdhury, not the blogger.

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